Due to the fact that cocoa products are used in a wide variety of sectors, including food (confectionery, dairy, bakery, alcohol, etc.), pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, the demand for them is growing constantly. Cocoa production is not ubiquitous, but rather is concentrated in only a few countries of the world, mostly located in the subequatorial regions of Africa, America, Asia and Oceania. The top five cocoa producers include 3 West African countries: Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria. Cocoa production in Africa is largely concentrated in the hands of smallholder farmers and poses a number of problems that hinder full harvests and inhibit the development of the industry. Experts assess the prospects for the development of the cocoa industry in different ways: some of them put forward a pessimistic scenario for its development, while others present an optimistic one, subject to the introduction of digital technologies.